With rules in place, Crean moves on

Opposition Leader Simon Crean will today move to switch Labor's focus from the party rules debate back to policy by seeking to make law and order a federal election issue.

Mr Crean will outline elements of a new pitch to win votes in the suburbs by promising to crack down on guns and drugs and help prevent home burglaries, usually the responsibilities of state governments.

The push will come during a visit to Wollongong police station ahead of the October 19 byelection for the seat of Cunningham. It will also be the first test for Mark Latham since his promotion to Labor's shadow cabinet portfolio of community security.

Mr Latham said Labor would create community safety zones focusing on problem suburbs. "Every community is different, public safety issues vary. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach."

He said Labor would create a coastguard to stop imports of illegal guns and drugs, which often end up on suburban streets.");document.write("

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Mr Latham said better urban design would also improve safety, with some studies suggesting it could cut crime rates by 30 to 40 per cent, especially home burglaries.

He criticised housing designs with high fences that discouraged pedestrians and traffic. "Privacy for residents is also privacy for the burglar," he said.

Mr Latham said there was scope for federal governments to play a role in law-and-order issues and denied it was an attack on the handling of the issue by Labor state governments.

"It's not a whack, it's a helping hand. The public want to have a safe community, they want the law-and-order issue addressed. They don't care whether the solution comes from federal, state or local government," he said.

The Howard Government has criticised Mr Latham being put in charge of community safety, saying he had been in a brawl last year that left a Sydney taxi driver with a broken arm. Mr Latham said he was legally retrieving stolen property.

Mr Latham also hit out at sections of his own NSW Right faction, which voted against key reforms won by Mr Crean at Labor's weekend conference on party rules.

He said a power struggle for control of the Labor Council of NSW had caused "a rolling thunder of disruption and dissent" and called for it to end.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jenny Macklin said the rules conference was an important step to modernise the ALP, "but what we know is critically important now is that we develop the policies that will respond to the community's needs".

Ms Macklin, who is overseeing a policy review, said Labor was working on plans to help families manage their work and family lives and would introduce paid maternity leave.

She said Labor's refugee policy would be "delivered in the not-too-distant future".

Meanwhile, Victorian senator Kim Carr, the co-convenor of the national Left faction, denied suggestions by senior Left and Right faction members that Mr Crean owed favours to the Left for backing his reforms at the conference. "The talk of Mr Crean being in anyone's pocket is nonsense perpetrated by enemies of the Left for self-serving ends."

The reforms include reducing union votes at state conferences from 60 to 50 per cent, doubling the size of Labor's national conference, increasing quotas for women from 35 to 40 per cent by 2012 and cracking down on branch stacking.